1 In October of 1892, there was an official ceremony held to dedicate the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois. This major event was named in honor of Christopher Columbus, 400 years after his first voyage to America. There was special music written for the day called the "Columbian March." “The Pledge of Allegiance” was written earlier in 1892 by Francis J. Bellamy, so it was also recited on that grand day. Everyone expected about 70,000 people to show up for the dedication, but guess what? Almost double that amount showed up to the great event!2 There was a lot of anticipation and excitement building up to the first day of the fair. On May 1, 1893, that day finally came. People were rushing to buy their tickets at 50 cents for adults and 25 cents for children. That may seem like very little money now, but back then, it was a little expensive. The attendance was not quite what they had hoped at first, but it increased during the six months the fair was there.